DISTINGUISHED KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
Pavol Demeš, GMF Senior Transatlantic Fellow, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia.
Ivan Mikloš, Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic, President of economic think-tank MESA10.
Aleś Alachnovič, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s economic advisor.
Veranika Laputska, co-founder of EAST Center (Warsaw), research fellow at GMF Rethink.CEE.
WHY WE DO THIS:
Following successful market reforms of the 1990s, Slovakia became one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. We hope that the lessons learnt by Slovakia will help Belarus build a sustainable and fast-growing economy in the upcoming decade. Although no market reforms are yet possible in today’s Belarus, its brave people express an incredible commitment to peaceful transformations and political transit.
ABOUT SLOVAKAID FELLOWSHIP:
SlovakAid Fellowship program for Change Leaders initiative is a joint effort of Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA), GLOBSEC, Institute for Public Affairs (IVO), SlovakAid, and international expert initiative iSANS.
In April-October 2021, ten Belarusian specialists will research the systemic reforms in Slovakia and join academic training at leading Slovak think tanks and institutions. All fellows will be mentored by renowned Slovak economists and managers who have promoted reforms in various industries in this country since mid-1990s.
We expect that SlovakAid Fellowship will help Belarusian professionals become familiar with the Slovak experience of market economy transformation. It may serve as a safe role model for Belarusian economy of the future. Although Belarus and Slovakia do not share common borders, there is a large set of mental and contextual similarities between the two countries. So, we hope this program will expand the channels of communication between Belarusian and Slovak analytical communities.
